Persimmon's annual profits and revenue rise on improved market

25th Feb 2014 07:04

- Revenue up 21 per cent- Pre-tax profit increases 16 per cent- Operating margins and average selling price rise- Help to Buy boosts mortgage lending and demand- Forward order sales climbHousebuilder Persimmon reported a 21 per cent rise in 2013 revenue to 2.1bn pounds against the previous year as prices accelerated amid an improving UK market. Underlying pre-tax profit for the year through December 2013 jumped 49% to £330m. Operating margins increased to 16% from 12.9% the prior year, as the average selling price of homes climbed 4% to £181,861.Underlying basic earnings per share surged 47% to 83.3p. During the period the group bought a further 17,735 plots of land, bringing the consented landbank to 74,407. Legal completions were up 16% to 11,528. "Persimmon achieved a strong result for the year as we responded quickly to the increased customer demand that resulted from improved mortgage lending, the introduction of Help to Buy in April 2013 and the increase in consumer confidence as the UK returned to more meaningful economic growth," Chairman Nicholas Wrigley said.The company said it continued to make progress with its so-called Capital Return Plan, announced in February 2012. The programme includes a commitment to return £1.9bn, or £6.20 per share, of surplus capital to shareholders over nine-and-a-half years. The first instalment of £228m, or 75p per share, was paid on June 28th 2013. A further 70p per share will be paid on July 4th of this year. Persimmon ended the period with net cash of £204m, up slightly from the prior year's £201m, reflecting cash efficiency of land replacement operations, trading and building activities. Forward sales came to £1.4bn, up 41% from £1bn in 2012."The group entered 2014 with a very strong forward order book and the early weeks of the spring selling season have been encouraging, with our weekly private sales rate per site being 22% ahead of last year for the first eight weeks. We anticipate a further year of encouraging sales growth in 2014." RD